KR101332371B1 - Parameter based identification of femto cell - Google Patents

Abstract

Aspects for facilitating hand-in to a femtocell are disclosed. An identifier is assigned to the femtocell, and the identifier is based on a scrambling parameter and a timing parameter. The relationship between the identifier and the femtocell is then communicated. In another embodiment, a user equipment report is received, which includes attributes related to the signal broadcast by the femtocell. The identifier associated with the femtocell is identified from the attributes contained within the report. The femtocell is then identified based on the identifier. In an additional embodiment, a timing parameter is received and a scrambling parameter is set. The signal containing the scrambling parameter is then broadcast in accordance with the offset associated with the timing parameter. In yet another embodiment, the femtocell is detected during an active call. The identifier associated with the femtocell is then verified and reported.

Description

[0001] PARAMETER BASED IDENTIFICATION OF FEMTO CELL [0002]

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 151,469 entitled " Method and Apparatus for Mobile Stations in Active Call in UTRAN / UMTS Networks ", filed on February 10, 2009, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 173,115 entitled " Method and Apparatus to Enable Mobile Stations in Active Call in UTRAN / UMTS Networks ", filed on March 18, 2009, entitled " HNB Identification for UE Quot; Active Hand-Over ", which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 161,250. The above applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

The present invention relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for facilitating hand-in of user equipment to femtocells.

Wireless communication systems are widely used to provide various types of communication content such as voice, data, and so on. These systems may be multi-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth and transmit power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, 3GPP Long Term Evolution and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM) systems.

In general, a wireless multiple-access communication system can simultaneously support communication for multiple wireless terminals. Each terminal communicates with one or more base stations via transmissions on the forward and reverse links. The forward link (or downlink) refers to the communication link from the base stations to the terminals, and the reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link from the terminals to the base stations. Such a communication link may be established through a single-input-single-output, multiple-input-single-output or multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) system.

A MIMO system employs multiple (N _T ) transmit antennas and multiple (N _R ) receive antennas for data transmission. The MIMO channel formed by the N _T transmit and N _R receive antennas may be separated into N _S independent channels, which are also referred to as spatial channels, where N _{S <} min {N _T , N _R } to be. Each of the N _S independent channels corresponds to a dimension. A MIMO system may provide improved performance (e.g., higher throughput and / or greater reliability) if additional dimensional dimensions generated by multiple transmit and receive antennas are utilized.

MIMO systems support Time Division Duplex (TDD) and Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems. In TDD systems, forward and reverse link transmissions are in the same frequency domain so that the principle of reciprocity allows estimation of the forward link channel from the reverse link channel. This enables the access point to extract the transmit beamforming gain on the forward link when multiple antennas are available at the access point.

In cellular networks, Macro Node Bs (MNBs) provide access and coverage to a very large number of users over a particular geographic area. Macro network deployments are carefully planned, designed and implemented to provide good coverage across geographic areas. Such careful planning is required, but this can not accommodate channel characteristics such as fading, multipath, shadowing, etc., especially in indoor environments. Thus, indoor users face coverage issues (call drop, quality degradation) that result in poor user experience.

Miniaturized base stations, known as femtocells or home Node Bs (HNBs), are expected to address this issue by extending cellular coverage within the building. The femtocells are a new class of base stations, which can be installed in a user's home, and can provide indoor wireless coverage to mobile units using existing broadband Internet connections.

However, the unplanned deployment of so many HNBs will create some challenges that need to be solved. For example, it may be desirable to enable handover to a particular femtocell when the mobile user is close to a femtocell (e. G., A cellular subscriber approaching the home). It may be difficult to uniquely identify the femtocell to facilitate such handover. Typically, in a macro network, the identification of the MNB is accomplished by assigning a unique primary scrambling code (PSC) to the MNB in a particular coverage area. However, this is not feasible in femtocell deployments due to the limited number of PSCs allocated and reused and the small scale coverage of HNBs compared to MNBs. Thus, simply using only PSCs for HNB identification will cause ambiguities during the active hand-in procedure, and false HNB identification will cause severe network performance degradation.

When the user equipment UE in the CELL_DCH (Cell Dedicated Channel) state is relocated from the UMTS macro cell to the HNB cell, it is determined that a combined Serving Radio Network Subsystem (SRNS) relocation due to hard handover due to lack of Iur connection is required It should also be noted. In order to identify the target of such relocation, the Serving Radio Network Controller (SRNC) may send UE measurement reports to the target RNC (Radio Network Controller) for use in SRNS relocation and / or explicit OA & You can rely on measurements now. Measurements currently only provide a 28-bit global cell-id, optionally. In fact, the Radio Access Network Application Part (RANAP) measurement procedure assumes that the Radio Network Subsystem (RNS) never requests the cell id reported by the UE. Other measurable parameters (such as the PSC of the measured cell) can help narrow the candidate list of cells for which measurement is taken, but can not guarantee the identification of the target HNB in unrestricted HNB deployments. This leads to inefficiencies and ambiguities in the RANAP because a number of candidate target HNBs have to prepare for handover. This problem is generally known as "PSC confusion" problem.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to develop a method and apparatus that facilitates hand-in of user equipment to femtocells, where the PSC confusion problem is solved. The above-described combinations of current wireless communication systems are not intended to be exhaustive and are intended to be merely intended to provide an overview of some of the problems of prior art systems. Other problems with prior systems and the corresponding advantages of the various non-limiting embodiments described herein may become more apparent when reviewing the following description.

The following provides a brief summary of such embodiments in order to provide a basic understanding of one or more embodiments. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated embodiments and is not intended to identify key or critical elements of all embodiments or to delineate the scope of any or all embodiments. Its purpose is merely to provide some concepts of one or more embodiments in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

In accordance with one or more embodiments and corresponding disclosure thereof, various aspects are described in connection with identifying a femtocell during hand-off of user equipment. In one aspect, methods and computer program products for facilitating hand-in of user equipment to a femtocell are disclosed. Within such embodiments, a femtocell is identified and a unique identifier is assigned to the femtocell. In this embodiment, the unique identifier is a function of the scrambling parameter and the timing parameter. A unique identifier and a relationship between the femtocells are communicated.

In yet another aspect, an apparatus is disclosed that facilitates hand-in of user equipment to a femtocell. Within such an embodiment, the apparatus includes a processor configured to execute computer executable components stored in a memory. Computer executable components include an identification component, an assignment component, and a transfer component. The identification component is configured to identify the femtocell, and the allocation component is configured to assign a unique identifier to the femtocell. In this embodiment, the unique identifier is a function of the scrambling parameter and the timing parameter. The transport component is configured to communicate a unique identifier and a relationship between the femtocells.

In an additional aspect, another apparatus for facilitating hand-in of user equipment to a femtocell is disclosed. In such an embodiment, the apparatus comprises identification means, assignment means, and communication means. In this embodiment, the femtocell is identified and a unique identifier is assigned to the femtocell. In this embodiment, the unique identifier is a function of the scrambling parameter and the timing parameter. The unique identifier and the relationship between the femtocells are then communicated.

In yet another aspect, methods and computer program products that facilitate disambiguation of femtocells are disclosed. Within such embodiments, a report associated with the target femtocell is received. In this embodiment, the report includes a number of attributes related to the signal broadcast by the target femtocell. The identifier associated with the target femtocell is identified from at least one attribute included in the plurality of attributes. The target femtocell is distinguished from at least one other femtocell based on the identifier.

An apparatus that facilitates the clarification of a femtocell is also disclosed. Within such an embodiment, the apparatus includes a processor configured to execute computer executable components stored in a memory. Computer executable components include a receiving component, an identifying component, and a discriminating component. The receiving component is configured to receive a report associated with the target femtocell. In this embodiment, the report includes a number of attributes related to the signal broadcast by the target femtocell. The verification component is configured to identify an identifier associated with the target femtocell from at least one attribute included in the plurality of attributes. The distinguishing component is configured to distinguish the target femtocell from at least one other femtocell based on the identifier.

In an additional aspect, another apparatus that facilitates clarification of femtocells is disclosed. Within such an embodiment, the apparatus includes means for receiving a report, means for identifying an identifier, and means for distinguishing a femtocell. In this embodiment, a report associated with the target femtocell is received. Here, the report includes a number of attributes related to the signal broadcast by the target femtocell. The identifier associated with the target femtocell is then identified from at least one attribute included in the plurality of attributes. The target femtocell is then distinguished from at least one other femtocell based on the identifier. In an additional aspect, the apparatus comprises means for compiling a list of candidate femtocells.

In yet another aspect, methods and computer program products that facilitate identifying a femtocell are disclosed. Within such embodiments, a communication comprising a timing parameter is received and a scrambling parameter is set. The offset associated with the timing parameter is also verified. The signal containing the scrambling parameters is then broadcast in accordance with the offset.

An apparatus that facilitates identifying a femtocell is also disclosed. Within such an embodiment, the apparatus includes a processor configured to execute computer executable components stored in a memory. The computer-executable component includes a receiving component, a scrambling component, a timing component, and a transmitting component. The receiving component is configured to receive communications comprising a timing parameter, and the scrambling component is configured to set scrambling parameters. The timing component is configured to identify the offset associated with the timing parameter. The transmitting component is configured to broadcast the signal in accordance with the offset, and the signal comprises a scrambling parameter.

In an additional aspect, another apparatus that facilitates identifying a femtocell is disclosed. Within such an embodiment, the apparatus comprises means for receiving communications, means for setting scrambling parameters, means for ascertaining offsets, and means for broadcasting signals. In this embodiment, a communication comprising a timing parameter is received and scrambling is set. The offset associated with the timing parameter is also verified. The scrambling parameters are then broadcast according to the offsets. In an additional aspect, the verification means comprises means for selecting an offset and / or means for deducing an offset from the communication.

In yet another aspect, methods and computer program products that facilitate performing hand-in to a femtocell are disclosed. Within such embodiments, a target femtocell is detected during an active call and a global identifier associated with the target femtocell is identified. The global identifier is then reported as an external entity.

An apparatus that facilitates performing a hand-in to a femtocell is also disclosed. Within such an embodiment, the apparatus includes a processor configured to execute computer executable components stored in a memory. A computer-executable component includes a detection component, an identifier component, and a transmission component. The detection component is configured to detect a target femtocell during an active call and the identifier component is configured to identify a global identifier associated with the target femtocell. The transport component is configured to report the global identifier as an external entity.

In an additional aspect, another apparatus that facilitates performing a hand-in to a femtocell is disclosed. Within such an embodiment, the apparatus comprises means for detecting a target femtocell, means for identifying a global identifier, and means for reporting a global identifier. In this embodiment, the target femtocell is detected during the active call and the global identifier associated with the target femtocell is identified. The global identifier is then reported as an external entity. In an additional aspect, the apparatus includes means for automatically identifying the global identifier upon detection of the detected femtocell.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or more embodiments comprise the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative aspects of the one or more embodiments. However, these aspects are indicative of some of the various ways in which the principles of various embodiments are employed, and the described embodiments are intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents.

1 is an illustration of a wireless communication system in accordance with various aspects presented herein.
2 is an illustration of an example wireless network environment that may be employed in connection with the various systems and methods described herein.
3 is an illustration of an example communication system that enables deployment of access point base stations in a network environment;
4 is an overview of an exemplary system for facilitating hand-in of user equipment to femtocells in accordance with aspects of the present invention.
Figure 5 is an exemplary topology representation of nodes in accordance with aspects of the present invention;
6 is an exemplary disclosure of a relocation procedure that includes femtocell target candidates.
Figure 7 is an illustration of another exemplary relocation procedure involving femtocell target candidates.
8 is an exemplary environment diagram for facilitating hand-in of user equipment to femtocells according to an embodiment;
9 is a block diagram of an exemplary allocation unit that facilitates hand-in of user equipment to a femtocell in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.
10 is an illustration of an exemplary connection of electrical components that cause hand-in of a user equipment to a femtocell;
11 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for facilitating hand-in of user equipment to a femtocell in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.
Figure 12 is a block diagram of an exemplary clarification unit that facilitates clarification of femtocells in accordance with aspects of the present invention.
Figure 13 is an illustration of an exemplary connection of electrical components that cause clarification of femtocells.
Figure 14 is a flow chart illustrating a first exemplary method for facilitating clarification of femtocells in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention.
15 is a flow chart illustrating a second exemplary method that facilitates clarification of femtocells in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.
Figure 16 is a block diagram of an exemplary femtocell unit that facilitates identifying a femtocell in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.
Figure 17 is an illustration of an example connection of electrical components that cause it to facilitate identifying a femtocell;
18 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for facilitating identification of a femtocell in accordance with aspects of the present invention.
19 is a block diagram of an exemplary wireless terminal that facilitates performing a hand-in to a femtocell in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.
Figure 20 is an illustration of an example connection of electrical components that cause it to facilitate performing a hand-in to a femtocell.
Figure 21 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for facilitating hand-in to a femtocell in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.
22 is an illustration of an example communication system implemented in accordance with various aspects including multiple cells.
Figure 23 is an illustration of exemplary base stations in accordance with various aspects described herein.
Figure 24 is an illustration of an example wireless terminal implemented in accordance with various aspects described herein.

Various embodiments are now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to refer to like elements. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more embodiments. It may be evident, however, that such embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing one or more embodiments.

The present invention discloses a method and framework for uniquely identifying home Node Bs to enable hand-in of user equipment from Macro Node B to Home Node B in UMTS femtocell networks. Embodiments are also provided to solve the PSC confusion problem described above. In this aspect, the network includes a user equipment (UE), a macro node B (MNB), a home node B (HNB), a home node B management system (HMS), and a home node-B gateway (HNB-GW). For hand-in, the macro network (via source RNC (SRNC) or MNB) requests the UE to report the detected HNBs in the vicinity. The UE performs slot, frame synchronization, and obtains a primary scrambling sequence (PSC). Typically, in UTRA, PSCs are used to uniquely identify MNBs. However, this causes ambiguities during the HNB identification process at the MNB and / or the target HNB-GW, because the number of HNBs in the system is much larger than the PSCs allocated to the HNBs. This triggers false handoffs that result in degraded network performance.

The disclosed embodiments resolve HNB identification ambiguities by assigning unique identification attributes to the HNBs. In an aspect, the HNB identification attributes are tuples taken from a set of spreading sequences and a cross product of a set of SFN offsets. The report of the UE to the macro network (i.e., SRNC or MNB) includes HNB identification attributes, which are retrieved to uniquely identify the HNBs. The proposed approach is also applicable to legacy UEs and does not require any standards or macro network changes. In dense HNB deployments, or when HNB attribute assignments are not centralized, extrinsic tuples greatly reduce ambiguity in identifying HNBs. The final identification can then be additionally resolved by the HNB detecting the uplink channels of the neighboring UE.

The techniques set forth herein may be used for various applications such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), single carrier- ), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), and other systems. The terms "system" and "network ", as used herein, are often used interchangeably. CDMA systems implement wireless technologies such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), cdma2000, and the like. UTRA includes wideband-CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA200. CDMA2000 includes IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards. The TDMA system implements a radio technology such as a general purpose system for mobile communications (GSM). The OFDMA system implements wireless technologies such as bulb UTRA (E-UTRA), ultra mobile broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, UTRA, E-UTRA, and GSM are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is the next release of UMTS using E-UTRA, which uses OFDMA in the downlink and SC-FDMA in the uplink.

Single carrier-frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) utilizes single carrier modulation and frequency domain equalization. SC-FDMA has similar performance and fundamentally the same overall complexity as that of an OFDMA system. The SC-FDMA signal has a lower peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) due to its inherent single carrier structure. SC-FDMA can be used, for example, in uplink communications where lower PAPR is very beneficial for access terminals in terms of transmit power efficiency. Therefore, SC-FDMA can be implemented as 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution) or uplink multiple access scheme in this bulletin UTRA.

High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) may include High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) technology and High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) or enhanced uplink (EUL) technology, and may also include HSPA + technology. HSDPA, HSUPA and HSPA + are each part of 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) specifications Release 5, Release 6, and Release 7.

HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) optimizes data transmission from the network to the user equipment (UE). As used herein, data transmission from a network to a user equipment (UE) may be referred to as "downlink" (DL). The transmission methods may allow a data rate of several Mbits / s. High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) can increase the capacity of mobile wireless networks. HSUPA (High Speed Uplink Packet Access) can optimize data transmission from the terminal to the network. Data transmissions from the terminal to the network as used herein may be referred to as "uplink" (UL). Uplink data transmission methods may allow data rates of several Mbit / s. HSPA + provides much more improvements in both uplink and downlink as specified in Release 7 of the 3GPP specification. High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) methods are typically used for data services that transmit large amounts of data, such as voice over IP (VoIP), video conferencing and mobile office applications, Allows fast interactions.

High-speed data transmission protocols such as hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) may be used on the uplink and downlink. Such protocols, such as hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), allow the recipient to automatically request retransmission of packets that may be misreported.

Various embodiments in connection with an access terminal are described herein. An access terminal may also be referred to as a system, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, a user device, . The access terminal may be a cellular telephone, a cordless telephone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device having a wireless connection capability, It may be another processing device. Also, various embodiments are described herein in connection with a base station. The base station may be utilized to communicate with the access terminal (s) and may also be referred to as an access point, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNodeB), or some other terminology.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a wireless communication system 100 is illustrated in accordance with various embodiments provided herein. The system 100 includes a base station 102 that may include multiple antenna groups. For example, one antenna group may include antennas 104 and 106, another group may include antennas 108 and 110, and an additional group may include antennas 112 and 114. It may include. Although two antennas are illustrated for each antenna group, more or fewer antennas may be utilized for each group. The base station 102 may additionally include a transmitter chain and a receiver chain, and as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, each of these may in turn comprise a number of components associated with signal transmission and reception (e.g., , Multiplexers, demodulators, demultiplexers, antennas, etc.).

Base station 102 may communicate with one or more access terminals, such as access terminal 116 and access terminal 122, but may be any number of base stations 102 that are substantially similar to access terminals 116 and 122, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > access terminals. ≪ / RTI > Access terminals 116 and 122 may be, for example, cellular phones, smart phones, laptops, handheld communication devices, handheld computing devices, satellite radios, global positioning systems, PDAs, and / Or any other suitable device for communicating via wireless communication system 100. [ As shown, access terminal 116 is in communication with antennas 112 and 114, antennas 112 and 114 transmit information to access terminal 116 over forward link 118, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 120 < / RTI > The access terminal 122 also communicates with the antennas 104 and 106 and the antennas 104 and 106 transmit information to the access terminal 122 via the forward link 124 and the reverse link 126, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 122 < / RTI > In a frequency division duplex (FDD) system, the forward link 118 may utilize a different frequency band than that used by the reverse link 120, and the forward link 124 may, for example, It is possible to adopt a frequency band different from that employed by the < / RTI > Also, in a time division duplex (TDD) system, the forward link 118 and the reverse link 120 may utilize a common frequency band and the forward link 124 and the reverse link 126 may utilize a common frequency band .

The antennas of each group and / or the area that they are designated to communicate with may be referred to as the sector of the base station 102. For example, antenna groups may be designated to communicate to access terminals in sectors of the areas covered by base station 102. [ In communications over the forward links 118 and 124, the transmit antennas of the base station 102 are used to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the forward links 118 and 124 to the access terminals 116 and 122 Beam formation can be utilized. In addition, while base station 102 utilizes beamforming to transmit to arbitrarily distributed access terminals 116 and 122 via associated coverage, access terminals in neighboring cells may communicate with all of their access terminals < RTI ID = 0.0 >Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > interference. ≪ / RTI >

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication system 200. In FIG. The wireless communication system 200 depicts one base station 210 and one access terminal 250 for simplicity. However, it is contemplated that the system 200 may include one or more base stations and / or one or more access terminals, and additional base stations and / or access terminals may be coupled to the exemplary base station 210 and access terminal 250 But may be substantially similar or different. It should also be appreciated that base station 210 and access terminal 250 may employ the systems and methods described herein to facilitate wireless communication between them.

At base station 210, traffic data for a number of data streams is provided from a data source 212 to a transmit (TX) data processor 214. By way of example, each data stream may be transmitted via a respective antenna. The TX data processor 214 formats, codes, and interleaves the traffic data stream based on the particular coding scheme selected for the data stream to provide the coded data.

Coded data for each data stream may be multiplexed with pilot data using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) techniques. Additionally or alternatively, the pilot symbols may be frequency division multiplexed (FDM), time division multiplexed (TDM), or code division multiplexed (CDM). The pilot data is a known data pattern that is typically processed in a known manner and may be used at the access terminal 250 to estimate the channel response. The multiplexed pilot and coded data for each data stream may be combined with a particular modulation scheme (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), globular phase-shift keying (QPSK) (E.g., symbol-mapped) based on a modulation scheme (e.g., M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-sphere amplitude modulation (M-QAM), etc.). The data rate, coding, and modulation for each data stream may be determined by instructions performed or provided by the processor 230. [

Modulation symbols for data streams may be provided to TX MIMO processor 220, which may also process modulation symbols (e.g., for OFDM). The TX MIMO processor 220 then provides the N _T modulation symbol streams to the N _T transmitters (TMTR) 222a through 222t. In various embodiments, TX MIMO processor 220 applies beamforming weights to the symbols of the data streams and to the antenna over which the symbols are transmitted.

Each transmitter 222 receives and processes a respective symbol stream to provide one or more analog signals and additionally conditions analog signals to provide a modulated signal suitable for transmission over a MIMO channel (e.g., , Amplification, filtering, and up-conversion). In addition, N _T modulated signals from transmitters 222a through 222t are transmitted from N _T antennas 224a through 224t, respectively.

At access terminal 250, the transmitted modulated signals are received by N _R antennas 252a and 252r, and the received signal from each antenna 252 is provided to a respective receiver (RCVR) 254a through 254r, . Each receiver 254 conditions (e.g., filters, amplifies, and downconverts) each signal, digitizes the conditioned signal to provide samples, and provides a corresponding " Samples are additionally processed.

RX data processor 260 may receive and process N _T received symbol streams from N _R receivers 254 based on a specific receiver processing technique to provide N _T "detected" symbol streams . The RX data processor 260 may demodulate, deinterleave, and decode each detected symbol stream to recover traffic data for the data stream. Processing by RX data processor 260 is complementary to that performed by TX MIMO processor 220 and TX data processor 214 at base station 210. [

The processor 270 may periodically determine which available techniques to utilize as described above. In addition, the processor 270 may formulate a reverse link message including a matrix index portion and a rank value portion.

The reverse link message may include various types of information regarding the communication link and / or the received data stream. The reverse link message may also be processed by a TX data processor 238 that receives traffic data for multiple data streams from a data source 236 and is modulated by a modulator 280 and transmitted by transmitters 254a- 254r and may be transmitted back to the base station 210. [

At base station 210, signals modulated from access terminal 250 are received by antennas 224 to extract a reverse link message transmitted by access terminal 250 and transmitted by receivers 222 Conditioned, demodulated by demodulator 240, and processed by RX data processor 242. In addition, the processor 230 may process the extracted message to determine which pre-coding matrix to use to determine the beamforming weights.

Processors 230 and 270 may direct (e.g., control, coordinate, manage, etc.) operations at base station 210 and access terminal 250, respectively. Each of the processors 230 and 270 may be associated with a memory 232 and 272 that stores program codes and data. Processors 230 and 270 may also perform calculations to derive frequency and impulse response estimates for the uplink and downlink.

3 illustrates an exemplary communication system that enables deployment of access point base stations in a network environment. 3, system 300 includes a plurality of access point base stations, or alternatively, femtocells, home node B (HNBs), or, for example, HNBs 310, B units (HeNBs) or a home, such as HNBs 310, for example, includes bulbed Node B units (HeNBs), each of which is associated with a corresponding And is configured to serve an associated outsider and user equipment (UE) or mobile stations (320). Each HNB 310 is additionally connected to the Internet 340 and the mobile operator core network 350 via a DSL router (not shown) or alternatively a cable modem (not shown).

Referring now to FIG. 4, an overview of an exemplary system for facilitating hand-in of user equipment to femtocells in accordance with aspects of the present invention is provided. As illustrated, the system 400 includes a macro network 410, local femtocell networks 420, a wireless terminal 430, and a femtocell gateway 440. Macro network 410 includes base stations 412 and wireless network 414 and macro network 410 may communicate with wireless terminal 430 via any base stations 412. In some embodiments, (E. G., Voice, data, etc.). During an active communication, the macro network 410 provides a control message to the wireless terminal 430 and the control message instructs the wireless terminal 430 to send femto cells 424 in any of the local femtocell networks 420 To scan the cells in the neighboring cell list it contains. Based on the macro network settings established by the control message, the wireless terminal 430 provides reports to the macro network 4140 indicating measurements associated with specific attributes and / or their signals, which are transmitted to the detected femtocell 424 May be used to facilitate subsequent identification.

To facilitate such identification, each of the femtocell 424 is configured to broadcast signals according to certain parameters assigned to the femtocell 424. For example, in an embodiment, each femtocell 424 may be configured to transmit a femtocell signal based on a primary scrambling code (PSC) reported by the wireless terminal 430 in connection with measurements showing the timing offset used to broadcast the femtocell signal It is easily identifiable.

Local femtocell networks 420 communicate with femtocell gateway 440 and include a management device 422 and a plurality of femtocells 424, respectively. In one aspect, either the management device 422 and / or the femtocell gateway 440 is configured to assign identifiers to the femtocells 424, and the femtocells 424 are configured to facilitate identifying themselves Identifiers can be used.

In the aspect, the various elements illustrated in Fig. 4 facilitate the unique identification of the femtocells in different ways. In the following discussion, an elemental description of exemplary procedures performed by each element is provided.

First, a step performed by a Home Node B Management System (HMS) (i.e., management device 422) is described, wherein the HMS is a Home Node B (HNB) network (i.e., local femtocell networks 420) ). In the aspect, when the HNB is powered on, initialization messages are exchanged between the HMS and the HNB. For example, received signal strength indication (RSSI), received signal code power (RSCP), Ec / Io (ratio of received pilot energy, Ec, to total received energy or total power spectral density, Io ) And the like are collected. Based on the reports, a Macro Node B (MNB) (i.e., base station 412) for the HNB may be assigned and the HNB may select a suitable set of PSCs from the PSCs assigned to the HNBs. It should be noted, however, that within the embodiment, the set of primary scrambling codes (PSC) that can be assigned to the HNBs is denoted as follows.

S: = {sc1, sc2, ..., scK}

Where K represents the number of PSCs (primary scrambling codes) available (i.e., assigned to HNBs).

In this embodiment, the set of primary scrambling codes selected by the HNB is sent to the HMS. After receiving the set of PSCs, the HMS finds the appropriate offset value ([Delta]) to allocate to the HNB and the offsets are selected from the set of information between 0 and 255. In addition, the set of offsets is defined as follows.

?: = [0, 1, ..., 255]

The primary scrambling codes and offset values are then assigned to the HNBs. In a particular embodiment, a Cartesian product of S and A is taken and a set of HNB identifiers is generated as follows.

This includes pairs of spreading sequences and offset values.

The HMS then selects an unused pair from the HNBId set and assigns it to the HNB. It should be noted here that the length of the set of HNBIDs depends on the length of the sets S and?. In this aspect, a pair from the HNBID is selected and assigned to the HNB during the initialization phase of the HNB. However, in yet another aspect, the HNB is allowed to select an identifier arbitrarily from the set of delta. The list of HNBs and associated HNBIDs may also be sent to the MNB.

Next, a setup procedure performed by the exemplary HNB-GW (i.e., femtocell gateway 440) is described. It should be noted here that the HNB-GW may perform all of the described procedures for HMS or a subset of the procedures. In the aspect, the HNB-GW assists the setup procedure by compiling different types of information. For example, the HNB-GW can compile the measured measurements from the HNB.

The HNB-GW can also compile a neighbor topology graph based on HNB measurement reports. In such an embodiment, several assumptions are considered. For example, referring to the topology graph illustrated in FIG. 5, a home node 510 declares a neighboring macro node 512, a macro node 522, and a home node 530, and a home node 520 It is assumed that the neighbors declare the macro node 522 and the matron node 532.

By compiling the topology graph, various types of association information can be identified. For example, stand-alone information may be associated with nodes such as PSC and cell id. In the aspect, the two-way contact information is also associated with a link, such as SFN SFN _{node1- node2.} In another aspect, unidirectional information may also be associated (e. G., Ec / Io, RSSI, etc.) if the view from which the information is collected should be specified.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that such topology representation may be useful in deriving information that may not be locally available in the HNB. In Figure 5, for example, if the UE (i.e., wireless terminal 430) accesses the home node 510 and only the macro node 532 is included in the measurement report,

To identify the home node 510 as a candidate for hand-over.

Here, it should be noted that, in the calculations as far as possible, the home node 510 and the macro node 532 need to be connected via links. Also, since the macro network is not expected to be synchronized, at most one link in each node can be synchronized. Also, the time shift of the SFN difference on all other links should be tracked.

It should also be noted that the Node B neighbor illustrated in FIG. 5 may be restricted to the MNB neighbors of the HNBs, and may be useful in deployment if the HNBs have visibility of most or all MNBs in the neighborhood. In another aspect, a Node B neighbor may include HNB neighbors of HNBs, which may be useful in limiting the number of links in the SFNnode1-SFNnode2 calculation to be performed.

Next, the steps performed by the HNB are described. In an exemplary embodiment, after initial slot and frame synchronization and code group identification, the HNB detects the P-CCPCH (Primary Common Control Physical Channel) and obtains system and cell specific BCH (Broadcast Channel) information. In the aspect, the SFN of the MNB is transmitted on the BCH transport channel approximately every 20 milliseconds. In this embodiment, the BCH is mapped to the P-CCPCH, the SFN is increased approximately every 10 milliseconds, and repeats every 40.96 seconds. Therefore, the range of the SFN is [0, ..., 4095].

In another aspect, the HNB obtains the SFN of the MNB and sets its SFN based on the offset provided by the HMS. This can be done as follows.

,

,

otherwise,

Here, the algorithm does not suffer from time drifts because the SFN _HNB can be easily synchronized and tracked with the SFN _MNB increments transmitted at regular intervals on the downlink. In the aspect, the SFN initialization procedure is performed by all similar HNBs, and all HNBs are assigned SFNs.

In addition to the above procedures, HNBs can also detect and measure other cells in the vicinity. This includes HNBs and MNBs. In an exemplary embodiment, such cell detection and measurement procedures may be performed by a "network listening" module provided to the HNB. In yet another embodiment, this may be performed by UE measurement reports.

It should be noted here that such UE measurement reports may also be used by the SRNC (i.e., the radio network controller 414) to collect similar HNB identification information. If macro changes are acceptable, this can be considered for HNB identification in the SRNC. SRNC also provides direct signaling from RANAP-style Iur messaging (via Core Network node (CN) from HNB / NB-GW / OAM), OAM (HMS), or direct link with HNB or HNB-GW , In case the SRNC is simple and HNB).

The HNBs can also be used to verify various measurements of cells within its neighborhood. For example, the HNB measurement may include PSC, SFN, Ec / Io, RSSI of all detected cells in its neighborhood. These measurements may be transmitted periodically to HMS and / or HNB-GW.

Thus, in an aspect, the HNB-GW may have a neighbor topology representation as well as a neighbor mapping for each HNB. This may be related to the PSC and / or SFN information as described above.

In an additional aspect, if centralized SFN allocation is not possible (via HMS or HNB-GW), the HNBs may set their SFNs arbitrarily or in a distributed manner with respect to the detected neighboring MNBs or HNBs. While such distributed assignment fails to guarantee uniqueness, it will help narrow down the list of HNB candidates for handover attempts.

Next, the steps performed by the UE are described, and the legacy UEs can follow these steps. In an active call, the UE is connected to the MNB and is within Cell_DCH or Cell Forward Link Access Channel (Cell_FACH). The UE receives a request from the macro network (SRNC or MNB) to measure and report neighboring Node Bs (macro or home). This is accomplished by configuring intra- or inter-frequency or inter-RAT (Radio Access Technology) events. The SRNC provides PSC information via neighbor cell lists or measurement control messages.

In an embodiment, the UE performs a three-step synchronization procedure and obtains measurements for each PSC. Measurements may include PSC, SFN_cell_CFN, Ec / Io, RSSI and / or PL. The UE may send the following information to the SRNC: First, in the MRM of the UE transmitted on the RACH, the UE determines the PSC, SFN-CFN time difference (Cell_DCH), Ec / Io, RSSI, and / or PL (Path Loss) of the monitored cells Node B . Second, the SRNC may request additional measurements through the MCM, and the MCM includes a measurement request for the serving MNB among other PSCs. In such an embodiment, the UE may perform measurements, send an MRM to the SRNC, and the MRM transmitted on a RACH (Random Access Channel) may include measurements of up to six strongest neighbor cells. Third, it is useful to have MRMs of all active UEs sent to the SRNC that will be available in the HNB-GW.

Next, the steps performed by the SRNC and the HNB-GW are described. In an aspect, the SRNC acquires UE reports and initiates SRNS relocation. The SRNC may send the MRM of the UE to the HNB-GW. From the MRMs, the HNB-GW can extract the HNBID. Consider the following example to illustrate this.

Assume that HNB1 is assigned an identifier {sc1,? 1}. When the UE approaches HNBl, intra or inter-frequency measurements are triggered. The UE measures the cells transmitted on the NCL or MCM and transmits the MRM including the entry for HNB1, {sc1, CFN-SFN _HNB1 , Ec / Io1, RSSI1, ...}. The SRNC then configures the MCM to provide the MNB PSC (e.g., sc2). The MRM of the UE then includes an entry for the MNB, {sc2, CFN-SFN _HNB , Ec / Io2, RSSI2, ...}.

The SRNC then initiates SRNS relocation and sends two UE reports (in a single MRM possible) to the HNB-GW. The HNB-GW then extracts the difference between the system frame numbering from the two reports as well as sc1 from the first MRM. In other words,

Then, from {sc1,? 1}, the HNB-GW can identify the target HNB (i.e., HNB1 in the above example).

In cases where the MNB is not detected by HNB1 as part of its neighborhood, the HNB-GW may use the topology representation to obtain [Delta] 1. In general, the greater the number of topology links that are routed, the worse the HNB clarification capability (since the PSC, ΔSFN-tuples are used to broaden the scope).

To minimize the number of links that have to go through to calculate [Delta] 1, additional criteria may be considered to ensure that the HNB is certainly a potential hand-over candidate. Such criteria may include, for example, using RSCP or Ec / N0 reports from UE MRMs and similar reports stored for potential candidate HNBs. This will generally increase the likelihood that the UE is in the vicinity of the potential HNB. In yet another aspect, a lower detection threshold may be allowed for collection of the HNB's neighbor list (via the DL receiver, or UE measurements). In another aspect, information from UE MRMs received from other nodes may also be used (e.g., via SRNS relocation signaling).

Maximum links from HNB for calculation Number of MaxLinksHNB:

가 HNB의 이웃을 적어도 부분적으로 규정하는데 사용될 수 있다는 것을 인지해야 한다. 예를 들면, MaxLinks_HNB 이상의 링크들이 거칠 필요가 있다면, 그후 소스NB는 HNB의 이웃의 일부가 아니다. 그후, HNB는 소스NB로부터 핸드 오버하는 UE들에 대한 가능한 타겟 후보로서 고려되지 않을 것이다.

May be used to at least partially define the neighborhood of the HNB. For example, if links beyond the MaxLinks _HNB need to be routed, then the source NB is not part of the neighborhood of the HNB. The HNB will then not be considered as a possible target candidate for the UEs handing over from the source NB.

In order to further reduce call drop due to incorrect HNB identification, any HNB-GW, HNB or SRNC may additionally record MRMs corresponding to successful and failed handover events. Without limiting the generality, the way to use such information is as follows.

Successful handover => Use MRM to increase the neighbor list of the HNB

Failed handover => Use MRM in conjunction with the UE IMSI to prevent future inaccurate HNB identification for specific UEs.

This solution can be implemented without requiring any macro or standard changes. If macro changes are considered, the above procedure can be performed in the SRNC.

Next, the steps performed by the MNB are described. In an aspect, when obtaining the report of the UE, the MNB retrieves offset and scrambling code information. The MNB then checks whether the scrambling code enters its code-group-id, and then identifies the HNB based on the identifier, HNBID. If a match is found, then a hard handoff procedure is initiated. On the other hand, if the PSC is not in its code-group-id, then the MNB sends (offset, scrambling information) to the HMS, which then determines the correct HNB and initiates a hard handoff.

PSC confusion solution for pre-release 9 UEs

Aspects for resolving PSC confusion issues with pre-Release 9 UEs are now discussed. In these aspects, as in Figure 6, a normal hand-over initiation using RANAP relocation procedures is considered. It is also contemplated that the HNB-GW may be uniquely identified due to the deployment selection, and the HNB-GW is assumed to transmit relocation requests to all candidate target HNBs.

In Release-8, the "source RNC to target RNC transparent container" is used by the RANAP relocation procedure to provide the 28-bit target cell ID to the HNB-GW. However, the actual target cell ID can not be known due to the PSC confusion problem.

If there is no target cell-id, it is contemplated that the following information may be made available to the HNB-GW to support clarification. First, the PSC of the target cell that triggers the relocation request may become available. In an aspect, a PSC is available from an optionally included measurement report (at most 9 bits but may be less), and if this information is not included, the clarification problem is exacerbated.

Second, the identity or location of the source (macro) cell may also be made available to the HNB-GW. If the source cell id is available, the HNB-GW may correlate it with the radio environment measurements from the HNB (HNBAP changes may require that these measurements be made mandatory at HNB registration time through possible post-registration updates has exist). Along with the HNB PSC information, such a "macro for HNB-candidate set" mapping in the HNB-GW helps to narrow the target HNBs.

In order to alleviate the clarification problem, various methods of providing the information to the HNB-GW are contemplated. For example, the global cell id of the source (macro) cell may be sent in the "source RNC to target RNC transparent container". Within such an embodiment, a new IE, or an existing target cell Id, may be used for this purpose. The information may also be provided by mandating it to the SRNC to provide a measurement report to the PSC of the target HNB.

In another aspect, the clarification problem is mitigated by transmitting the RANAP relocation to all potential HNBs. In this embodiment, the HNBs rely on notifying the HNB-GW whether they are candidates. In addition, additional measurements (e.g., CFN-SFN differences) may be included in the corresponding information for correlating on the HNBAP side and additionally narrowing down the list of candidate HNBs as well as the PANAP relocation message.

In additional aspects, before handover, uplink synchronization may be attempted with target candidate HNBs (derived from RANAP relocation information) to further narrow down the list of handover candidate HNBs. The target HNBs may also be ranked based on UE measurements and HNB-UE uplink synchronization results.

Referring now to FIG. 7, an exemplary relocation procedure is illustrated, and the relocation procedure includes femtocell target candidates. Rel-8 RANAP Request Procedure Next, each of the candidate HNBs acknowledges the relocation request by including an RRC handover message for the SRNC to apply to the UE (i.e., from the target RNC to the source RNC transparent container). Once a single target HNB cell is identified, the solution is simple. However, if multiple candidate target HNBs are identified, different RRC handover messages may be received from the target candidate HNBs by the HNB-GW via RANAP acknowledgments. Below, a discussion is provided, if any, about which of the RRC handover messages the HNB-GW should send to the SRNS over the CN.

In the first embodiment, all HNBs are required to have a standard acknowledgment RB setting (e.g., DCH R99). Within such an embodiment, each HNB may reconfigure the UE after it has handed over from the SRNS.

Another possibility is that the HNB-GW ranks the target candidate HNBs. In this embodiment, the HNB-GW may be configured to prepare relocations to the extent that it only ranks one HNB at a time (alternatively into groups). Here, if the relocation is prepared in the incorrect HNB, the CELL_DCH UE will return to the source, and in this case, the SRNS will allow the relocation to be retried for the next candidate HNBs. The SRNS may also need to notify the HNB-GW of the failure.

In yet another aspect, relocation is handled according to whether the UE has access to candidate HNBs. In this case, it is proposed that the UE prepare only (simultaneously or sequentially) cells that are allowed access. In this embodiment, if the CELL_DCH UE handover to an HNB that it does not access, the UE will return to the source, and relocation may be handled as described above.

In summary, various embodiments are disclosed for solving the PSC confusion problem associated with pre-Pull-9 UEs. For example, when the relocation target is HNB, an embodiment is provided in which the source global cell-id becomes available for the HNB-GW. Also provided is an embodiment in which the HNB provides its radio environment measurements to the HNB-GW and only the HNB-GW is ready to relocate for target HNBs that the UE is allowed to access.

In situations where the target cell id may not be available for the HNB-GW, an embodiment has been disclosed wherein the HNB-GW is provided with a target PSC. If the relocation is triggered by the UE measurement report, this can be accomplished by including it in the RANAP relocation. Presently, the inclusion of such measurements is optional.

Embodiments have also been disclosed in which candidate HNBs are ranked based on the probability that the HNB-GW is the target HNB. Here, such a possibility can be set, for example, based on UE received power and / or UE measurements at the HNB. In such an embodiment, the HNB-GW may attempt relocation for one or more candidate target HNBs in a ranking order at a time.

PSC confusion solution for Release 9+ UEs

In Release-9 + UEs, embodiments for resolving the PSC confusion issue include making the global cell-id of the target HNB available, and the global cell-id includes an HNB for the SRNS when the handover decision is made Uniquely identifies. In this embodiment, the cell id of the target HNB is broadcast to SIB3 / 4. Making this cell id available for SRNS will solve the PSC problem. The current UEs in the CELL-DCH already have the ability to read the BCCH logical channels (SIBs broadcast), and the UE reports the SFN of the target cell to report the CFN-to-SFN difference for the soft hand- do. The PSC confusion problem can then be resolved by allowing the SRNS to request cell-id reporting in UE measurements. In such an aspect, if there is ambiguity in the identity of the handover candidate cell, the SRNC requests the UE to report the cell id of these cells.

Exemplary embodiments

Referring now to FIG. 8, an exemplary environment for facilitating user equipment hand-in to a femtocell is provided. As illustrated, the environment 800 includes an allocation unit 810, a clarification unit 820, a femtocell unit 830, and a wireless terminal 840. In this embodiment, the allocation unit 810, the clarification unit 820, the femtocell unit 830, and the wireless terminal 840 are each communicatively coupled to each other via a network 850. A detailed description of each component is provided below.

Referring now to FIG. 9, an exemplary allocation unit block diagram is provided that facilitates handing-over of user equipment to a femtocell in accordance with an embodiment. As shown, the allocation unit 900 includes a processor component 910, a memory component 920, an identification component 930, an allocation component 940, a transmission component 950, a receiving component 960, (970).

In one aspect, the processor component 910 is configured to execute computer-readable instructions related to performing any one of a plurality of functions. The processor component 910 may be configured to analyze information to be communicated from the assignment unit 900 or to provide information to the memory component 920, the identification component 930, the allocation component 940, the transmission component 950, the receiving component 960, And code components 970. The processor 970 may be a single processor or multiple processors designated to generate information that may be utilized by the code component 970. [ Additionally or alternatively, the processor component 910 may be configured to control one or more of the components allocation unit 900.

In another aspect, the memory component 920 is coupled to the processor component 910 and is configured to store computer-readable instructions that are executed by the processor component 910. The memory component 920 may also include a random access memory that includes data generated by any of the components of the identification component 930, the allocation component 940, the transmission component 950, the receiving component 960, and the code component 970 Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > of the < / RTI > Memory component 920 may be configured with a number of different configurations, including random access memory, battery backed-up memory, hard disk, magnetic tape, and the like. Various features may also be implemented for the memory component 920, such as compression and automatic backup (e.g., use of a redundant array of independent drive configurations).

As illustrated, the assignment unit 900 may also include an identification component 930 and an assignment component 940. Within such an embodiment, the identification component 930 is configured to identify the femtocell, while the assignment component 940 is configured to assign a unique identifier to the femtocell. In this embodiment, the unique identifier is a function of the scrambling parameter and the timing parameter. For example, a unique identifier may be identified by combining a scrambling parameter and a timing parameter.

In another aspect, the allocation unit 900 comprises a code component 970, and the code component 970 is configured to identify a primary scrambling code. Here, the primary scrambling code identified by the code component 970 corresponds to a macro node associated with the femtocell (e.g., the macro node has a coverage area that includes the femtocell). In this embodiment, the scrambling parameters utilized by allocation component 940 to obtain a unique identifier are based on a primary scrambling code.

In another aspect, a sending component 950 and a receiving component 960 are coupled to the processor component 910 and are configured to interface with the assigning unit 900 with external entities. For example, the transport component 950 may be configured to communicate the relationship between a unique identifier and a femtocell (e.g., to indicate to a femtocell and / or an external entity that a unique identifier is assigned to this particular femtocell) Communicating), the receiving component 960 can be configured to receive a selection of a primary scrambling code from the femtocell (i.e., to facilitate identifying a unique identifier).

Returning to FIG. 10, a system 1000 that facilitates hand-in of user equipment to a femtocell is illustrated in accordance with an embodiment. System 1000 may be, for example, in an allocation unit 900 (e.g., femtocell gateway 440 and / or management device 422) or in a computer-readable storage medium. As shown, the system 1000 includes functional blocks that may represent functions implemented by a processor, software, or combination thereof (e.g., firmware). System 1000 includes a logical grouping 1002 of electrical components that can operate in conjunction. As illustrated, the logical grouping 1002 may include an electrical component for identifying the femtocell 1010. Logic group 1002 may also include an electrical component for assigning a unique identifier to a femtocell based on a scrambling parameter and a timing parameter 1012. [ The logical grouping 1002 may also include an electrical component for communicating a unique identifier and a relationship between the femtocells 1014. In addition, the system 1000 may include a memory 1020 that retains instructions for executing functions associated with the electrical components 1010, 1012, and 1014. It should be understood that electrical components 1010, 1012, and 1014 may reside within memory 1020, although shown as being external to memory 1020.

Referring now to FIG. 11, a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method of facilitating hand-in of user equipment to a femtocell is provided. As illustrated, process 1100 includes a series of operations that may be performed by an assignment unit (e.g., femtocell gateway 440 and / or management device 422) in accordance with aspects of the present invention . For example, process 1100 may be implemented by employing a processor to execute computer-executable instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium to implement a sequence of operations. In yet another embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium is contemplated that includes code for causing at least one computer to implement the operations of process 1100. [

In an aspect, the process begins at operation 1105 with the allocation unit identifying the femtocell, followed by the identification of the macrocell associated with the femtocell in operation 1110. [ Process 1100 then proceeds to operation 1115 where the primary scrambling code is verified for the femtocell, and at operation 1120, a timing offset is verified for the femtocell. Here, in some embodiments, it should be appreciated that the primary scrambling code and / or timing offset may be selectable by the femtocell.

Once the primary scrambling code and timing offset are identified, the process 1100 proceeds to operation 1125 where a unique identifier for the femtocell is derived. In an embodiment, the unique identifier is a function of the primary scrambling code and the timing offset. For example, in a particular embodiment, the unique identifier is calculated by taking the outer product of the primary scrambling code and the timing offset. If a unique identifier is derived, the process ends at operation 1130 where the allocation unit communicates an assignment identifying an exclusive identifier and an exclusive relationship between the femtocell.

Referring now to Figure 12, a block diagram illustrates an exemplary clarification unit in accordance with various aspects. As illustrated, the clarification unit 1200 includes a processor component 1210, a memory component 1220, a receiving component 1230, an identifying component 1240, a discriminating component 1250, a topology component 1260, A preparation component 1270, a preparation component 1280, and a transport component 1290.

As with the processor component 910 in the allocation unit 900, the processor component 1210 is configured to execute computer-readable instructions related to performing any one of a plurality of functions. The processor component 1210 may be configured to analyze information to be communicated from the clarification unit 1200 or to provide information to the memory component 1220, the receiving component 1230, the verification component 1240, the distinguishing component 1250, the topology component 1260, May be a single processor or multiple processors designated to generate information that may be utilized by the transport component 1270, the provisioning component 1280, and the transport component 1290. Additionally or alternatively, the processor component 1210 is configured to control one or more components of the clarification unit 1200.

In another aspect, memory component 1220 is coupled to processor component 1210 and is configured to store computer-readable instructions to be executed by processor component 1210. The memory component 1220 also includes a receiving component 1230, an identifying component 1240, a discriminating component 1250, a topology component 1260, a compilation component 1270, a provisioning component 1280, Or any other number of other types of data including data generated by any of the < RTI ID = 0.0 > components. ≪ / RTI > It should be noted that the memory component 1220 is similar to the memory component 920 in the allocation unit 900 here. Thus, it should be appreciated that any of the above-mentioned features / configurations of memory component 920 are also applicable to memory component 1220. [

In another aspect, receiving component 1230 and transmitting component 1290 are also coupled to processor component 1210 and are configured to interface with externalization entities and the clarification unit 1200.

For example, receiving component 1230 may be configured to receive a report associated with a target femtocell. It should be appreciated that the received report may include any of a number of attributes related to the signal broadcast by the target femtocell. In another aspect, the receiving component 1230 is configured to receive a plurality of assignments, and each of the plurality of assignments exclusively pairs unique identifiers corresponding to the femtocell. In this particular embodiment, assignments may be received, for example, from an assignment unit 900.

In another embodiment, the transport component 1290 is utilized by the clarification unit 1200 to provide commands to the user equipment for viewing. For example, the transport component 1290 may be configured to provide instructions to initialize the user equipment, including initializing the user equipment to provide a primary scrambling code associated with the target femtocell, if desired. For example, in one embodiment, the user equipment may be initialized to automatically provide a primary scrambling code upon detection of a target femtocell. However, in another embodiment, the user equipment may be initialized to provide a primary scrambling code only upon receipt of the request.

As illustrated, the clarification unit 1200 further includes a verification component 1240. [ Within such an embodiment, the confirmation component 1240 is configured to identify an identifier associated with the target femtocell. In such an embodiment, the identifier is ascertained from at least one attribute included in the report received via the receiving component 1230. In an additional embodiment, verification component 1240 is configured to utilize reporting to find each of the scrambling and timing parameters. Within such an embodiment, the verification component 1240 identifies the identifier based on the scrambling parameter and the timing parameter.

Here, it should be noted that the timing parameters used by the verification component 1240 can be ascertained using relative information between the nodes. For example, the topology component 1260 may be configured to maintain a topology representation of a plurality of nodes, and the topology representation includes relative information between nodes (e.g., time drift associated with the nodes relative to each other) .

In yet another aspect, the clarification unit 1200 includes a distinct component 1250. Within such an embodiment, the distinguishing component 1250 is configured to distinguish a target femtocell from at least one femtocell based on an identifier. Here, it should be appreciated that the distinguishing component 1250 can be configured to perform this distinction in any of a number of ways. For example, in situations in which the receiving component 1230 receives the above-described assignments that exclusively pair the femtocell and the corresponding unique identifier, the distinguishing component 1250 identifies the identifier identified by the identifying component 1240 And a matching unique identifier. In addition, the distinguishing component 1250 can be configured to distinguish the target femtocell based on other parameters such as a global identifier associated with the source cell or a set of radio environment measurements associated with the target femtocell.

In other embodiments, the distinguishing component 1250 may operate in association with the compilation component 1270. For example, in an aspect, compilation component 1270 is configured to compile a list of candidate femtocells and to rank the list of candidate femtocells according to the likelihood that they are target femtocells. In such an embodiment, the ranking may be based on any of a number of parameters, including, for example, user equipment power received in candidate femtocells or any of a plurality of attributes included in the report have. The differentiating component 1250 may then be configured to test the list of candidate femtocells in an order that matches the rankings. Here, it should be noted that the distinguishing component 1250 can be configured to test the list of candidate femtocells individually or in groups.

The compilation component 1270 may also be configured to operate with the provisioning component 1280. For example, in an aspect, compilation component 1270 is configured to identify a set of femtocells accessible by user equipment (i.e., user equipment that has generated the report received via receiving component 1230). Within such an embodiment, the provisioning component 1280 is configured to perform relocation preparation, and the relocation preparation comprises only preparing a set of femtocells accessible by the user equipment.

Compilation component 1270 may also implement any of a variety of methods for reducing the list of candidate femtocells. For example, the compilation component 1270 may be configured to determine whether to comply with any of a number of factors, including, for example, measurements included in the relocation message and / or uplink synchronization attempts performed on candidate femtocells May be configured to reduce the list of candidate femtocells. Other parameter compilation component 1270 may be utilized to compile a list of candidate femtocells that may include user measurements from neighboring measurements and / or at least one external node associated with each of the candidate femtocells . Furthermore, the effect of the list of candidate femtocells can be controlled by adjusting thresholds associated with detecting candidate femtocells or maintaining the history of handover attempts associated with each of the candidate femtocells.

Referring next to Figure 13, a system 1300 that facilitates clarification of femtocells in accordance with an embodiment is illustrated. The instructions for implementing the system 1300 and / or the system 1300 may include, for example, physically linking the physiological clarification unit 1200 (e.g., the femtocell gateway 440 and / or the wireless network controller 414) Or computer-readable storage medium, and system 1300 includes functional blocks that may represent functions implemented by a processor, software, or combination thereof (e.g., firmware). The system 1300 also includes a logical group 1302 of electrical components that may operate in association with a logical group 1002 within the system 1000. [ As illustrated, logical grouping 1302 may include an electrical component for receiving a report associated with a signal broadcast by target femtocell 1310. [ Logical group 1302 may also include an electrical component for identifying an identification associated with a target femtocell from at least one attribute included in report 1312. [ Logic group 1302 may also include an electrical component for distinguishing a target femtocell from at least one other femtocell based on identifier 1314. [ In addition, the system 1300 may include a memory 1320 that retains instructions for executing functions associated with the electrical components 1310, 1312, and 1314. It should be understood that although electrical components 1310, 1312, and 1314 may be present in memory 1320, although shown as being external to memory 1320,

Referring now to FIG. 14, a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for facilitating clarification of femtocells is provided. As illustrated, process 1400 includes a series of operations that may be performed by the clarification unit in accordance with aspects of the present invention. For example, process 1400 may be implemented by employing a processor to execute computer-executable instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium to implement a sequence of operations. In yet another embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium is contemplated that includes code for causing at least one computer to implement the operations of process 1400. [

In an aspect, process 1400 begins at operation 1405 with the clarification unit receiving femtocell identification assignments. In this particular embodiment, each of the received assignments exclusively pairs the corresponding unique identifier with the femtocell. Further, in this embodiment, each of the unique identifiers is a function of a primary scrambling code and a timing offset associated with the femtocell.

Next, at operation 1410, the process 1400 proceeds to the generation of a look-up table for easily identifying the femtocells according to the corresponding unique identifier of the femtocells. Within such an embodiment, the look-up table is moved by received femto cell identification assignments.

The user equipment report is then received at operation 1415, followed by extraction of the target cell parameters from the report at operation 1420. In such an embodiment, the parameters extracted from the report include specific timing offsets assigned to the femtocell and / or specific scrambling codes associated with the femtocell. Upon extracting the target cell parameters, the process 1400 identifies a unique identifier based on the parameters extracted in operation 1425. [ For example, as discussed above, the unique identifier may be a unique extrinsic of the assigned timing offsets and the primary scrambling code associated with the femtocell. Once the unique identifier for the detected femtocell is calculated, the process 1400 proceeds to search for a look-up table for an identifier entry that is unique in operation 1430. Process 1400 then ends at operation 1435 where the target cell is identified.

Referring now to FIG. 15, a flow diagram illustrating another exemplary method for facilitating clarification of a femtocell is provided. As illustrated, the process 1500 also includes a series of operations that can be performed by the clarification unit. For example, process 1500 may also be implemented by employing a processor to execute computer-executable instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium to implement a sequence of operations. In yet another embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium is contemplated that includes code for causing at least one computer to implement the operations of process 1500. [

In an aspect, process 1500 begins at operation 1505 with the clarification unit receiving a user equipment report. Here, it should be appreciated that different types of user equipment may have different capabilities (e.g., Release 9+ user equipment has different capabilities than pre-release 9 user equipment). For example, some user equipment may be configured to provide the global cell identifier associated with the target femtocell, and other user equipment can not. Thus, at operation 1510, process 1500 determines if the received user equipment report includes a global cell identifier for the target femtocell. If the global cell identifier is explicitly included, the process 1500 ends at operation 1535 where the target femtocell is easily identified. Otherwise, if no global cell identifier is included, process 1500 proceeds to operation 1515. [

At operation 1515, the list of candidate femtocells is compiled to facilitate identifying the target femtocell. Here, the list of candidate femtocells may include a number of factors, including, for example, perimeter measurements (e.g., based on received user equipment power) for user equipment, history of previous hand- , ≪ / RTI > In this particular embodiment, the candidate femtocells are ranked at operation 1520, and subsequently tested at operation 1525, depending on the likelihood that they are target femtocells. In an aspect, tests of candidate femtocells may be performed in an order that matches their specific ranking (e.g., as likely to be the same or more likely), and candidate femtocells may be tested individually or in groups have.

Next, at operation 1530, the process 1500 determines if ambiguity exists and the ambiguity prevents the target femtocell from being identified. If no ambiguity exists, process 1500 terminates at operation 1535 where the target femtocell is easily identified. Otherwise, if there is a certain ambiguity, it follows that the counter is incremented at operation 1540 and the process 1500 is repeated again with an operation 1525 where subsequent candidates are tested.

Referring now to Figure 16, a block diagram illustrates an exemplary femtocell unit according to various aspects. As illustrated, the femtocell unit 1600 includes a processor component 1610, a memory component 1620, a receiving component 1630, a scrambling component 1640, a timing component 1650, and a transmitting component 1660 can do.

As with each of the processor components 910 and 1210 in the allocation unit 900 and the clarification unit 1200, the processor component 1610 may include computer-readable instructions related to performing any of the functions Lt; / RTI > The processor component 1610 may be configured to analyze information to be communicated from the femtocell unit or may be coupled to the memory component 1620, the receiving component 1630, the scrambling component 1640, the timing component 1650, and / Lt; / RTI > may be a single processor or multiple processors designated to generate information that may be utilized by the processor. Additionally or alternatively, the processor component 1610 may be configured to control one or more components of the femtocell unit 1600.

In another aspect, the memory component 1620 is coupled to the processor component 1610 and is configured to store computer-readable instructions that are executed by the processor component 1610. The memory component 1620 may also include any of a number of other components including data generated by any of the components of the receiving component 1630, the scrambling component 1640, the timing component 1650, and / Type data. ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > It should be noted here that the memory component 1620 is similar to the respective memory components 920 and 1220 in the allocation unit 900 and the clarification unit 1200. [ Thus, it should be appreciated that any of the above-mentioned features / configurations of memory components 920 and / or 1220 are also applicable to memory component 1620. [

In another aspect, receiving component 1630 and transmitting component 1660 are also coupled to processor component 1610 and are configured to interface the femtocell unit 1600 with external entities. For example, the receiving component 1630 may be configured to receive a communication (e.g., communication from a management device 422 that includes a macro node frame number) that includes timing parameters, May be configured to broadcast a signal from the femtocell unit (1600). Here, the transmitting component 1660 may also include certain properties, including, for example, scrambling parameters associated with the femtocell unit 1600, offsets associated with timing parameters, radio environment measurements, and / Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > entity. ≪ / RTI >

In an aspect, the signal broadcast from the femtocell unit 1600 includes a scrambling parameter and is broadcast according to an offset. To facilitate this broadcast, the femtocell unit may utilize a scrambling component 1640 and a timing component 1650. Within such an embodiment, the scrambling component 1640 is configured to set a scrambling parameter (e.g., a primary scrambling code), while the timing component 1650 is configured to identify an offset associated with a timing parameter Component 1650 may be configured to select an offset or deduce an offset from the communication received via receiving component 1630).

Referring now to FIG. 17, a system 1700 that facilitates identifying a femtocell is illustrated. The instructions for implementing the system 1700 and / or the system 1700 may be physically present, for example, in the femtocell unit 1600 or in a computer-readable storage medium, and the system 1700 may be a processor, , Or a combination thereof (e.g., firmware). The system 1700 also includes a logical grouping 1702 of electrical components that can operate in association with each of the logical groups 1002 and 1302 in the systems 1000 and 1300. As illustrated, logical grouping 1702 may include an electrical component for receiving communications, including timing parameters 1710, and an electrical component for setting scrambling parameters 1712. [ Logic group 1702 may also include an electrical component for identifying the offset associated with timing parameter 1714. Logic group 1702 may also include an electrical component 1716 for broadcasting a signal comprising a scrambling parameter in accordance with the offset. The system 1700 can also include a memory 1720 that retains instructions for executing functions associated with the electrical components 1710, 1712, 1714, and 1716, , And 1716 may be internal or external to the memory 1720.

Referring now to FIG. 18, a flowchart is provided illustrating an exemplary method that facilitates identifying a femtocell. As illustrated, process 1800 includes a series of operations that may be performed by a femtocell in accordance with aspects of the present invention. For example, process 1800 can be implemented by employing a processor to execute computer-executable instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium to implement a sequence of operations. In yet another embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium is contemplated that includes code for causing at least one computer to implement the operations of process 1800. [

In an aspect, process 1800 begins at operation 1805 where a communication is received, and parameters corresponding to the femtocell at operation 1810 are subsequently extracted from the communication. In this particular embodiment, the extracted parameters may include scrambling parameters and / or timing parameters. In an aspect, the scrambling parameter is a primary scrambling code included in the communication, and the timing parameter is a parameter used to identify a timing offset (for a macrocell having a coverage area that includes a femtocell) The timing offset will be utilized.

It should be noted that, in some embodiments, the timing offset may be selectable by the femtocell. Thus, at operation 1815, the process 1800 determines if an offset is selectable. For example, in one embodiment, the timing offset is explicitly included in the initial communication, while in another embodiment, the frame number of the macrocell utilized by the femtocell to select the timing offset is provided. Also, if a timing offset is explicitly provided, the process 1800 proceeds to operation 1825 where the timing offset is confirmed. Otherwise, the timing offset is selected by the femtocell in operation 1820.

If the timing offset is confirmed or selected, process 1800 proceeds to operation 1830 where a timing offset is set. A primary scrambling code is then set in operation 1835. Process 1800 then ends in operation 1840 where a signal including the primary scrambling code is broadcast by the femtocell in accordance with a timing offset.

Referring now to FIG. 19, a block diagram illustrates an exemplary wireless terminal in accordance with various aspects. As illustrated, the wireless terminal 1900 includes a processor component 1910, a memory component 1920, a detection component 1930, an identifier component 1940, a receiving component 1950, and a transmitting component 1960 .

As with each of the processor components 910, 1210, and 1610 in the allocation unit 900, the clarification unit 1200, and the femtocell unit 1600, the processor component 1910 may include any of a number of functions Readable < / RTI > The processor component 1910 may be configured to analyze the information to be communicated from the wireless terminal 1900 or to provide information to the memory component 1920, the detection component 1930, the identifier component 1940, the receiving component 1950, and / Lt; / RTI > may be a single processor or multiple processors designated to generate information that may be exploited by a processor. Additionally or alternatively, the processor component 1910 may be configured to control one or more components of the wireless terminal 1900.

In another aspect, the memory component 1920 is coupled to the processor component 1910 and is configured to store computer-readable instructions that are executed by the processor component 1910. The memory component 1920 may also include any of a number of other types of data including data generated by the detection component 1930, the identifier component 1940, the receiving component 1950, and / Or < / RTI > It should be noted here that the memory component 1920 is similar to the respective memory components 820, 1120 and 1620 in the allocation unit 900, the clarification unit 1200, and the femtocell unit 1600. Thus, it should be appreciated that any of the above-mentioned features / configurations of memory components 820, 1120, and 1620 are also applicable to memory component 1920. [

As illustrated, the wireless terminal 1900 may further include a detection component 1930 and an identifier component 1940. Within such an embodiment, the detection component 1930 is configured to detect a target femtocell during an active call, and the identifier component 1940 is configured to identify a global identifier associated with the target femtocell. Here, the identifier component 1940 may be configured to determine a global identifier in response to a request (e.g., a request from the radio network controller 414), and the identifier component 1940 may be configured to determine a global identifier May be configured to automatically determine a global identifier in the global identifier.

In another aspect, the sending component 1960 and receiving component 1950 are also coupled to the processor component 1910 and are configured to interface wireless terminal 1900 with external entities. For example, the sending component 1960 may be configured to report a global identifier to an external entity (e.g., the wireless network controller 414), and the receiving component 1950 may send a request to provide a global identifier For example, a request for a global identifier from the radio network controller 414).

Referring next to FIG. 20, a system 200 that facilitates performing hand-in to a femtocell in accordance with an embodiment is illustrated. The instructions for implementing system 2000 and / or system 2000 may be physically present in, for example, wireless terminal 1900 or in a computer-readable storage medium, and system 200 may include a processor, Or combinations thereof (e. G., Firmware). ≪ / RTI > System 200 also includes logical groups 2002 of electrical components that may operate in association with respective logical groups 1002, 1302, and 1702 in systems 1000, 1300, and 1700, . As illustrated, logical group 2002 may include an electrical component 2010 for detecting a target femtocell during an active call. The logical group 2002 may also include an electrical component for identifying the global identifier associated with the target femtocell 2012. [ The logical group 2002 may also include an electrical component for reporting the global identifier to the external entity 2014. In addition, the system 200 may include a memory 2020 that retains instructions for executing functions associated with the electrical components 2101, 2012, and 2014. It is to be understood that although electrical components 2010, 2012, and 2014 may be present in memory 2020, although shown as being external to memory 2020,

Referring now to FIG. 21, a flowchart is provided illustrating an exemplary method that facilitates performing a hand-in to a femtocell. As illustrated, process 2100 includes a series of operations that may be performed by a wireless terminal in accordance with aspects of the present invention. For example, process 2100 can be implemented by employing a processor to execute computer-executable instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium to implement a series of operations. In yet another embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium is contemplated that includes code for causing at least one computer to implement the operations of process 1100. [

In an aspect, process 2100 begins in operation 2105, where the wireless terminal is initialized. Within such an embodiment, the wireless terminal may be initiated to perform in any of a number of ways. For example, with respect to reporting a global identifier corresponding to a detected femtocell, the wireless terminal may be initiated to automatically report the global cell identifier or only report the global cell identifiers on demand.

After the wireless terminal is initialized, process 2100 proceeds to the detection of femtocells at operation 2110, followed by a determination of whether to automatically report the global cell identifier of the detected femtocell at operation 2115. [ If the wireless terminal is initiated to automatically report global cell identifiers, then the global cell identifier for the detected cell is identified in operation 2125 and subsequently the process 2100 ends in operation 2130 where the global cell identifier is reported do. Otherwise, if the wireless terminal is configured to only report global cell identifiers on demand (i.e., the wireless terminal is not configured to report automatically), the process 2100 determines whether a request for a global identifier is received 2120). If the request is received explicitly, the global cell identifier for the detected cell is identified in operation 2125, and subsequently, process 2100 ends in operation 2130 where the global cell identifier is reported. Otherwise, if no request for a global cell identifier is made, the process 2100 is repeated again with an operation 2110 in which the femtocells are continuously monitored.

Exemplary communication system

22, there is provided an exemplary communication system 2200 implemented in accordance with various aspects including a number of cells: Cell I 2202, Cell M 2204. Here, as indicated by the cell boundary region 2268, it is noted that neighboring cells 2202 and 2204 are slightly overlapped, thereby creating a potential for signal interference between signals transmitted by base stations in neighboring cells Should be. Each cell 2202, 2204 of system 2200 includes three sectors. (N = 1), cells with two sectors (N = 2) and cells with more than three sectors (N > 3) that are not subdivided into multiple sectors are also possible in accordance with various aspects . Cell 2202 includes a first sector, sector I 2210, a second sector, sector II 2212, and a third sector, sector III 2214. Each sector 2210, 2212, and 2214 has two sector boundary regions, and each boundary region is shared between two adjacent sectors.

The sector boundary regions provide the potential for signal interference between signals transmitted by base stations in neighboring sectors. Line 2216 represents the sector boundary region between sector I 2210 and sector II 2212 and line 2218 represents the sector boundary region between sector II 2212 and sector III 2214 and line 2220 represent the sector boundary region between sector III 2214 and sector I 2210. [ Similarly, cell M 2204 includes a first sector, sector I 2222, a second sector, sector II 2224, and a third sector, sector III 2226. Line 2228 represents the sector boundary region between sector I 2222 and sector II 2224 and line 2230 represents the sector boundary region between sector II 2224 and sector III 2226 and line 2232 represent the sector boundary region between sector III 2226 and sector I 2222. [ Cell I 2202 includes a base station (BS), a base station I 2206, and a plurality of end nodes (ENs) within each sector 2210, 2212, 2214. Sector I 2210 includes EN (1) 2236 and EN (X) 2238 respectively coupled to BS 2206 over wireless links 2240 and 2242 and sector II 2212 includes EN (EN) 2224 and EN (X ') 2246 respectively connected to BS 2206 via links 2248 and 2250 and sector III 2214 includes wireless links 2256 and 2258. [ 2252 and EN (X ") 2254, which are each connected to the BS 2206 through a base station (BS) Similarly, cell M 2204 includes a base station M 2208 and a plurality of end nodes (ENs) within each sector 2222, 2224, 2226. Sector I 2222 includes EN (1) 2236 'and EN (X) 2238', each coupled to BS 2208 via wireless links 2240 'and 2242', and sector II 2224 Includes EN (1 ') 2244' and EN (X ') 2246', each connected to BS M 2208 via wireless links 2248 'and 2250', and sector 3 2226, Includes EN (1 '') 2252 'and EN (X' ') 2254', each coupled to BS 2208 via wireless links 2256 'and 2258'.

The system 2200 also includes a network node 2260 connected to BS I 2206 and BS M 2208 via network links 2262 and 2264, respectively. Network node 2260 is also connected to other network nodes, e.g., other base stations, AAA server nodes, intermediate nodes, routers, and the like, and is connected to the Internet via network link 2266. The network links 2262, 2264, 2266 may be, for example, fiber optic cables. Each end node, e. G., ENl 2236, may be a wireless terminal including a transmitter and a receiver. Wireless terminals, e.g., EN (1) 2236, may move through system 2200 and communicate over wireless links with base stations in the cell where the EN is currently located. The wireless terminals, (WTs), e.g., EN (1) 2236, may communicate with peer nodes, e.g., within the system 2200 or other WTs outside the system 2200, , BS 2206, and / or network node 2260. The WTs, e. G., EN (1) 2236, may be mobile communication devices, such as cell phones, personal data assistants (PDAs) with wireless modems. Each base station is able to allocate tone subsets using different methods during strip-symbol periods, from methods employed to allocate tones and determine tone hopping in the remaining symbol periods, e.g., strip-symbol periods . The wireless terminals may transmit information, such as base station slope ID, sector ID information, received from the base station to determine tones that they may employ to receive data and information in particular strip-symbol periods, Use the assignment method. The tone subset allocation sequence is constructed according to various aspects to spread inter-sector and inter-cell interference across each of the tones. While the system of the present invention has been described primarily with reference to cellular modes, it should be appreciated that a number of modes are available and employable in accordance with aspects described herein.

Exemplary base stations

23 illustrates an exemplary base station 2300 in accordance with various aspects. Base station 2300 implements tone subset allocation sequences and different tone subset allocation sequences are generated for each different sector type of cell. The base station 2300 may be used as any one of the base stations 2206, 2208 of the system of FIG. The base station 2300 includes a receiver 2302, a transmitter 2304, a processor 2306, e.g., a CPU, an input / output interface 2308 and a memory coupled together by a bus 2309, 2302, 2304, 2306, 2308, and 2310 may exchange data and information over the bus.

Sectorized antenna 2303 coupled to receiver 2302 is used to receive data and other signals, e.g., channel reports, from wireless terminals transmissions from each sector in the cell of the base station. The sectorized antenna 2305 coupled to the transmitter 2304 is coupled to the wireless terminals 2400 (see FIG. 24) in each sector of the cell of the base station to receive data and other signals, such as control signals, , Beacon signals, and the like. In various aspects, base station 2300 includes a plurality of receivers 2302 and a plurality of transmitters 2304, e.g., individual receivers 2302 for each sector and individual transmitters 2304 for each sector (2304) can be employed. The processor 2306 may be, for example, a general purpose central processing unit (CPU). Processor 2306 controls the operation of base station 2300 under the direction of one or more paths 2318 stored in memory 2310 and implements the methods. I / O interface 2308 provides a connection to other network nodes to connect BS 2300 to other networks, such as other base stations, access routers, AAA server nodes, and the Internet. Memory 2310 includes paths 2318 and data / information 2320.

Data / information 2320 includes tone subset allocation sequence information 2338 including data 2336, downlink strip-symbol time information 2340 and downlink tone information 2342, and a plurality of sets of WT information (WT) data / information 2344 that includes WT 1 information 2346 and WT N information 2360. Each set of WT information, e.g., WT 1 information 2346 includes data 2348, terminal ID 2350, sector ID 2352, uplink channel information 2354, downlink channel information 2356, , And mode information 2358.

Paths 2318 include communication paths 2322 and base station control paths 2324. [ Base station control paths 2324 include a scheduler module 2326 and a tone subset allocation path 2330 during strip-symbol periods, the remainder of symbol periods, e.g., other downlinks during non-strip- Signaling paths 2328 including a tone allocation hopping path 2332, and a beacon path 2334.

Data 2336 includes data to be transmitted to encoder 2314 of transmitter 2304 for encoding prior to transmission to WTs and data received from WTs processed via decoder 2312 of receiver 2302 following reception . The downlink strip-symbol time information 2340 includes frame synchronization structure information, such as superslots, beaconslots, and ultraslot structure information, and information indicating whether a given symbol period is a strip-symbol period, and if so, - information indicating whether the symbol is a reset point for truncating the tone subset allocation sequence used by the base station. The downlink tone information 2342 includes information including the carrier frequency assigned to the base station 2300, the number and frequency of tones, and the set of tone subsets to be assigned to strip-symbol periods, and the slope, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > and / or < / RTI > sector specific values.

The data 2348 may include data received by the WTl 2400 from the peer node, data desired to be transmitted to the WTl 2400 peer node, and downlink channel quality report feedback information. Terminal ID 2350 is the base station 2300 assigned ID that identifies WTl 2400. The sector ID 2352 includes information identifying the sector in which WTl 2400 operates. The sector ID 2352 can be used, for example, to determine the sector type. Uplink channel information 2354 may be used by WT1 2400 for scheduler 2400 to use dedicated uplink control channels for uplink traffic channel segments, requests, power control, timing control, etc., Information identifying the channel segments assigned by the channel segmentation unit 2326. Each uplink channel assigned to WTl 2400 includes one or more logical tones, and each logical tone follows an uplink hopping sequence. The downlink channel information 2356 includes information identifying the downlink channel segments for user data, e.g., channel segments allocated by the scheduler 2326 to deliver data and / or information to WTl 2400 Information. Each downlink channel assigned to WTl 2400 includes one or more logical tones, each of which follows a downlink hopping sequence. Mode information 2358 includes information identifying the operating state of WT1 2400, e.g., sleep, hold, and on.

Communication paths 2322 control base station 2300 to perform various communication operations and implement various communication protocols. Base station control paths 2324 may perform basic base station functional tasks such as signal generation and reception and scheduling and transmit transmission signals to wireless terminals using tone subset allocation sequences during strip- And to implement the steps of the method of some aspects, including the steps of < RTI ID = 0.0 >

The signaling path 2328 controls the operation of a transmitter 2302 having a decoder 2312 and an encoder 2312. The signaling path 2328 is responsible for controlling the generation of the transmitted data 2336 and control information. The tone subset allocation path 2330 uses the method of this aspect and uses the data / information 2320 including the downlink strip-to-symbol time information 2340 and the sector ID 2352 in a strip- Constitute a tone subset to be used. The downlink tone subset allocation sequences will be different for each sector type in the cell and different for neighboring cells. WTs 2400 receive signals in strip-symbol periods in accordance with the downlink tone subset allocation sequences and base station 2300 uses the same downlink tone subset allocation sequences to generate the transmitted signals . Other downlink tone allocation hopping path 2332 uses downlink tone information 2342 and downlink channel information 2356 information in symbol periods other than strip-symbol periods to provide downlink tone hopping sequences . The downlink data tone hopping sequences are synchronized across the sectors of the cell. Beacon path 2334 controls the transmission of a beacon signal, e.g., a signal of a relatively high power signal centered on one or fewer tones, which is used for synchronization purposes, e.g., frame timing structure of the downlink signal, - can be used to synchronize the tone subset allocation sequence with respect to slot boundaries.

An exemplary wireless terminal

24 illustrates an exemplary wireless terminal (end node) that may be used as any one of the wireless terminals (end nodes) of system 2200 shown in FIG. 22, e.g., EN (1) (2400). Wireless terminal 2400 implements tone subset allocation sequences. The wireless terminal 2400 includes a receiver 2402 that includes a decoder 2412, a transmitter 2404 that includes an encoder 2414, a processor 2406, and a memory 2408 that are coupled to the bus 2410 And the various elements 2402, 2404, 2406, and 2408 can exchange data and information over the bus. An antenna 2403 used to receive signals from a base station (and / or a disparate wireless terminal) is coupled to a receiver 2402. For example, an antenna 2405 used to transmit signals to a base station (and / or a disparate wireless terminal) is coupled to a transmitter 2404.

A processor 2406, e.g., a CPU, implements methods by controlling the operation of the wireless terminal 2400, executing the paths 2420 and using the data / information 2422 in the memory 2408.

Data / information 2422 includes user data 2434, user information 2436, and tone subset allocation sequence information 2450. User data 2434 may include data intended for a peer node, data received from a base station that is processed by decoder 2412 in receiver 2402, and data intended for a peer node may be transmitted to a base station Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 2414 < / RTI > User information 2436 includes uplink channel information 2438, downlink channel information 2440, terminal ID information 2442, base station ID information 2444, sector ID information 2446, and mode information 2448 . Uplink channel information 2438 includes information identifying the uplink channels segments allocated by the base station to wireless terminal 2400 for use when transmitting to the base station. The uplink channels may include uplink traffic channels, dedicated uplink control channels, e.g., request channels, power control channels and timing control channels. Each uplink channel includes one or more logical tones, and each logical tone follows an uplink tone hopping sequence. The uplink hopping sequences are different between cells of each sector type and between neighboring cells. The downlink channel information 2440 includes information identifying the downlink channel segments assigned to the WT 2400 by the base station for use by the base station to transmit data / information to the WT 2400. [ The downlink channels may include downlink traffic channels and assignment channels, each downlink channel comprising one or more logical tones, each logical tone following a downlink hopping sequence, / RTI >

User information 2436 also includes terminal ID information 2442 as a base station-assignment identification, base station ID information 2444 that identifies the particular base station with which the WT establishes communications, and a particular sector of the cell where WT 2400 is currently located. And sector ID information 2446 identifying the sector ID. Base station ID information 2444 provides the cell slope value, sector ID information 2446 provides the sector index type, and the cell slope value and sector index type can be used to derive the tone hopping sequences. Mode information 2448, also included in user information 2436, identifies whether WT 2400 is in a sleep mode, a hold mode, or an on mode.

Tone subset allocation sequence information 2450 includes downlink strip-symbol time information 2452 and downlink tone information 2454. The downlink strip-symbol time information 2452 includes frame synchronization structure information such as superslots, beaconslots, and ultraslot structure information, and information indicating whether a given symbol period is a strip-symbol period, and if so, - information indicating whether the symbol is a reset point for truncating the tone subset allocation sequence used by the base station. The downlink tone information 2454 includes information including the carrier frequency assigned to the base station 2300, the number and frequency of tones, and the set of tone subsets to be assigned to the strip-symbol periods, and the slope, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > and / or < / RTI > sector specific values.

Paths 2420 include communication paths 2424 and wireless terminal control paths 2426. [ Communication paths 2424 control various communication protocols used by WT 2400. The radio terminal control paths 2426 control basic radio terminal 2400 functions including control of receiver 2402 and transmitter 2404. The wireless terminal control paths 2426 include a signaling path 2428. The signaling path 2428 includes a tone subset allocation path 2430 for strip-symbol periods and the remainder of the symbol periods, e. G., Another downlink tone assignment hopping path 2432 during non-strip- . Tone subset allocation path 2430 may include downlink channel information 2440, base station ID information 2444, e.g., slope index and sector type 2440, to generate downlink tone subset allocation sequences in accordance with some aspects. , User data / information 2422 including downlink tone information 2454, and processes the received data sent from the base station. Other downlink tone allocation hopping path 2430 uses downlink tone information 2454 and downlink channel information 2440 information during symbol periods other than strip-symbol periods to provide downlink tone hopping sequences . The tone subset allocation path 2430 when executed by the processor 2406 is used when the wireless terminal 2400 receives one or more strip-symbol signals from the base station 2300 and on which tone the wireless terminal 2400 Lt; / RTI > is used to determine whether to receive one or more strip-symbol signals from the receiver 2300. [ The uplink tone allocation hopping path 2430 uses the tone subset allocation function with the information received from the base station to determine the tones it should transmit.

In one or more exemplary embodiments, the functions presented herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted via one or more instructions or code on a computer readable medium. Computer-readable media includes computer storage media and communication media including any medium for facilitating transfer of a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium may be a general purpose computer or any available medium that can be accessed by a special computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise any form of computer readable medium, such as RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage media, magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, And may include, but is not limited to, a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a general purpose processor, or any other medium that can be accessed by a particular processor. In addition, any connection means may be considered as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a web site, server, or other remote source over wireless technologies such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or infrared radio, and microwave, Wireless technologies such as cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or infrared radio, and microwave may be included within the definition of such medium. The discs and discs used here include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, DVDs, floppy discs, and Blu-ray discs where disc plays the data magnetically, As shown in FIG. The combinations may also be included within the scope of computer readable media.

A program, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a software package, a class, or instructions, data structures, or program statements when the embodiments are implemented as program code or code segments It should be noted that A code segment may be coupled to another code segment or hardware circuit by conveying and / or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be communicated, forwarded, or transmitted using any suitable means, including memory sharing, message delivery, token delivery, network transmission, and the like. Additionally, in some aspects, the steps and / or actions of the method or algorithm may reside as a set or one or any combination of codes and / or instructions on a machine readable medium and / or computer readable medium And the readable medium may be integrated into a computer program product.

In the case of a software implementation, the techniques presented herein may be implemented through modules (eg, procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions presented herein. The software codes may be stored in memory units and executed by processors. The memory unit may be implemented within the processor or external to the processor, where the memory may be communicatively coupled to the processor via various known means.

In the case of a hardware implementation, the processing units may be implemented as one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), digital signal processors (DSP), digital signal processing devices (DSPD), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof.

The above description includes examples of one or more aspects. It is, of course, not possible to describe every combination of conceivable components or methods to illustrate the stated aspects, but one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that further combinations and permutations of various aspects are possible . Accordingly, the described aspects are intended to embrace all such variations, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope of the claims. Also, for the term " include " as used in the specification or claims, the term " comprising "when used as a & Likewise, it is intended in an implicit way.

As used herein, the term "infer" or "inference" refers generally to reasoning about the state of a system, environment and / or user from a set of observations captured through events and / Process. Inference may be employed to identify a particular context or action, or may generate a probability distribution over states, for example. The inference can be probabilistic, that is, it can be a computation of a probability distribution over states of interest based on consideration of data and events. Inference can also refer to techniques employed to create higher-level events from a set of events and / or data. Such inference may be based on the observed events and / or a set of stored event data, whether the events are closely correlated in time, and whether the events and data are coming from one or several events and data sources, .

Also, as used herein, the terms “component”, “module”, “system” and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or running software. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to, a process, a processor, an object, an executable file, a thread of execution, a program, and / or a computer running on a processor. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and a computing device may be a component. One or more components may reside within a process and / or thread of execution, and the components may be localized on one computer or distributed among two or more computers. These components may also be executed from various computer readable media having various data structures stored therein. Components may have one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a distributed system, or interacting with other systems via a network, such as the Internet) Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > and / or < / RTI >

Claims (79)

A method of facilitating hand-in of user equipment into a femto cell,
Identifying the femto cell;
Assigning a unique identifier to the femto cell, wherein the unique identifier is obtained from a Cartesian product of a set of available primary scrambling codes and a set of offset values, the scrambling parameter and Is a function of a timing parameter; And
Communicating a relationship between the unique identifier and the femto cell;
How to facilitate hand-in. The method of claim 1,
The relationship indicates an assignment of the unique identifier to the femto cell, and wherein the forwarding step includes communication of the relationship to an external entity.
How to facilitate hand-in. The method of claim 1,
The relationship identifying at least one of a frame number or a timing offset associated with the timing parameter, and wherein the forwarding includes transmitting the relationship to the femto cell.
How to facilitate hand-in. The method of claim 1,
Ascertaining the primary scrambling code corresponding to the macro node associated with the femto cell;
The scrambling parameter is based on the primary scrambling code,
How to facilitate hand-in. 5. The method of claim 4,
Identifying a primary scrambling code corresponding to a macro node associated with the femto cell, wherein the scrambling parameter is based on the primary scrambling code,
How to facilitate hand-in. The method of claim 5, wherein
Wherein the primary scrambling code identified from auxiliary macro cell information comprises at least one of a path loss of a radio channel between a pair of neighboring cells, a quality of a macro cell pilot signal, or a strength of a macro cell signal,
How to facilitate hand-in. The method of claim 1,
The unique identifier is unique with respect to a region localized for a macro node associated with the femto cell,
How to facilitate hand-in. An apparatus that facilitates hand-in of user equipment to a femtocell,
A processor configured to execute computer executable components stored in a memory,
An identification component configured to identify the femto cell;
An assignment component configured to assign a unique identifier to the femto cell, wherein the unique identifier is obtained from a Cartesian product of the set of available primary scrambling codes and the set of offset values and is a function of a scrambling parameter and a timing parameter; And
A transmission component configured to convey a relationship between the unique identifier and the femto cell,
Device for facilitating hand-in. The method of claim 8,
The relationship indicates an assignment of the unique identifier to the femto cell, and wherein the transmitting component is configured to convey the relationship to an external entity,
Device for facilitating hand-in. The method of claim 8,
The relationship identifies a frame number associated with the timing parameter and the transmitting component is configured to communicate the relationship to the femto cell,
Device for facilitating hand-in. The method of claim 8,
A code component configured to identify a primary scrambling code corresponding to a macro node associated with the femto cell,
The scrambling parameter is based on the primary scrambling code,
Device for facilitating hand-in. The method of claim 11,
Further comprising a receiving component configured to receive a selection of at least one candidate primary scrambling code from the femto cell,
Device for facilitating hand-in. A computer-readable storage medium that facilitates hand-in of user equipment into a femto cell,
The computer-readable storage medium includes code, the code causing at least one computer to:
Identify the femto cell;
Assign a unique identifier to the femto cell, wherein the unique identifier is obtained from a Cartesian product of the set of available primary scrambling codes and the set of offset values and the scrambling parameters associated with the femto cell and the timing associated with the femto cell. Is a function of a parameter ―;
To convey a relationship between the unique identifier and the femto cell,
Computer-readable storage medium. The method of claim 13,
The code further causes the at least one computer to verify the unique identifier by combining the scrambling parameter and the timing parameter,
Computer-readable storage medium. An apparatus that facilitates hand-in of user equipment to a femtocell,
Means for identifying the femto cell;
Means for assigning a unique identifier to the femto cell, wherein the unique identifier is obtained from a Cartesian product of a set of available primary scrambling codes and a set of offset values and is a function of a scrambling parameter and a timing parameter; And
Means for conveying a relationship between the unique identifier and the femto cell;
Device for facilitating hand-in. The method of claim 15,
Means for confirming the unique identifier by combining the scrambling parameter and the timing parameter,
Device for facilitating hand-in. delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete A method for facilitating hand-in to a femto cell, the method comprising:
Detecting a target femto cell during an active call;
Identifying a global identifier associated with the target femto cell, wherein the global identifier is obtained from a Cartesian product of the set of available primary scrambling codes and the set of offset values and is a function of a scrambling parameter and a timing parameter; And
Reporting the global identifier to an external entity,
Method for facilitating hand-in performance. 69. The method of claim 68,
Receiving a request to verify the global identifier,
The global identifier is identified in response to the request,
Method for facilitating hand-in performance. 69. The method of claim 68,
The checking step is automatically performed upon detection of the detected femto cell,
Method for facilitating hand-in performance. An apparatus for facilitating hand-in to a femto cell, the apparatus comprising:
A processor configured to execute computer executable components stored in a memory,
A detection component configured to detect a target femto cell during an active call;
An identifier component configured to identify a global identifier associated with the target femto cell, wherein the global identifier is obtained from a Cartesian product of the set of available primary scrambling codes and the set of offset values and is a function of a scrambling parameter and a timing parameter; And
A transmission component configured to report the global identifier to an external entity,
Device for facilitating hand-in performance. The method of claim 71 wherein
Further comprising a receiving component configured to receive a request to provide the global identifier,
The identifier component is configured to determine the global identifier in response to the request;
Device for facilitating hand-in performance. The method of claim 71 wherein
The identifier component is configured to automatically determine the global identifier upon detection of a detected femto cell,
Device for facilitating hand-in performance. The method of claim 71 wherein
The identifier component is configured to determine the global identifier according to a timing offset associated with a frame number;
Device for facilitating hand-in performance. The method of claim 74, wherein
The global identifier is received without interruption of source cell active mode traffic,
Device for facilitating hand-in performance. A computer-readable storage medium that facilitates hand-in to a femto cell, the method comprising:
The computer-readable storage medium includes code, the code causing at least one computer to:
Detect a target femto cell during an active call;
Identify a global identifier associated with the target femto cell, the global identifier obtained from a Cartesian product of the set of available primary scrambling codes and the set of offset values and is a function of a scrambling parameter and a timing parameter;
Report the global identifier to an external entity,
Computer-readable storage medium. 80. The method of claim 76,
The code further causes the at least one computer to:
Receive a request to provide the global identifier,
Determine the global identifier in response to the request,
Computer-readable storage medium. An apparatus for facilitating hand-in to a femto cell, the apparatus comprising:
Means for detecting a target femto cell during an active call;
Means for identifying a global identifier associated with the target femto cell, wherein the global identifier is obtained from a Cartesian product of the set of available primary scrambling codes and the set of offset values and is a function of a scrambling parameter and a timing parameter; And
Means for reporting the global identifier to an external entity,
Device for facilitating hand-in performance. 79. The method of claim 78,
The means for identifying comprises means for automatically verifying the global identifier upon detection of the detected femto cell,
Device for facilitating hand-in performance.

Images